It's all about the food
Many of the world’s best chefs work with us because we understand how much good food matters and we only place them to their strengths. For you this means not just hiring a great chef, but exactly the right chef for your tastes.

International Chef Placement

Any cuisine, any style, anywhere. Michelin star to everyday healthy cooking. An eight-course tasting menu on your yacht to a feast round the family table. Whether it’s a permanent position, a seasonal requirement or a big celebration, at Amandine we have the chefs to suit you whatever your demands. With our extensive global network and rigorous selection criteria, tell us what you really want, and we’ll find you a chef that really fits.

Right first time

Great chefs select the finest ingredients, and fine tune their dishes drawing on years of experience and detailed knowledge. At Amandine, we work the same way. We don’t throw endless CVs at you, hoping something sticks. Instead, you get a hand-picked shortlist of chefs, filtered initially using 40 different levels of compatibility including ability, style, character, location and availability. The end result: right chef first time!

Read more about our carefully tailored and rigorous process:

Chef Selection

All of our chefs have to complete a 7 stage application process online before they are even considered for an interview. Many other agencies ask only for a CV and written references but at Amandine our in depth registration process requires our chefs to answer over 70 questions relating to their job preferences, style of cooking, work experience, location, availability and detailed employer references that we check verbally. Once they have completed this process our team then review the quality of their application and only the most promising of chefs get to the next stage of being interviewed.

Interview & Skills Test

Every candidate recommended by Amandine will have been interviewed - and we don't just mean a quick telephone chat. We conduct at least an hour-long interview either face to face or via video skype. All of our chefs will tell you that the Amandine interview isn't quite like other recruitment or crew consultants. We talk extensively about food with our chefs and take time to really get to know their individual stories and what makes them tick. When required we conduct skills tests in the Amandine kitchen and all of our chefs are offered the chance to cook a trial dinner for our judging panel of industry experts in order to become an accredited Amandine chef.

Getting to know you

We like to try and meet our customers in person. We think it’s a better (and much nicer) way to do business. And after all, it’s just as important to get to know you as well as we know our chefs if we’re to get the mix right. If we aren't able to meet with you to discuss your request, we always follow up by phone to find out as much about your specific requirements as possible. The more details we can obtain from you about the kind of food you or your guests like and the type of chef you are looking for the more likely we are to find you the right match.

Compatibility Matching

After confirming your request for a chef we put a shortlist of suitable candidates together. Our proprietary software allows us to search for the right chef using at least 40 different criteria to create an initial list of candidates that "on paper" fit with your requirements. From here we then fine-tune the selection based on our knowledge of the individual chef, discussing the role with them and further cross-referencing your criteria with our notes and other information such as previous employee references. Normally we recommend a short list of no more than 3 candidates who we think are suitable unless specifically asked for more. If there is just one chef who perfectly matches all your criteria then we will only recommend that one chef rather than ten others who aren't suitable.

Verifying Chefs' Details

In addition to thoroughly verifying all documents, written references and qualifications we speak to at least two verbal references for each candidate. These have to be people that the chef has worked for in the past two years or their most recent two jobs.

Personal Service

When we recommend a chef we provide a personalised profile that summarises the key relevant experience of the candidate and any personal details worth noting. The aim of this is to give you more of a personal picture of the chef and to share with you some of the details we have uncovered that you may not find out on a CV. We provide sample menus for all of our chefs when we send you their profiles along with references and food photos on request.

The Owner of Yacht Space introduced me to Amandine International Chef Placement after the successful placement of a Chef for his house.

In our experience when you hire a chef through Amandine you will get a professional chef that has been thoroughly reference checked and time has been dedicated to making sure they are compatible with the job description provided by the client.

Sourcing a high quality chef for important clients with expectations of excellence can be difficult and time consuming, when using the services of Amandine the process is made a great deal more straightforward and successful.

Michael Hole,
Captain, MY Space (45m)

Chef

“…the level of professionalism, depth of knowledge and understanding of the business shown by you and the team puts your agency ahead of the competition.”

It was a real pleasure speaking with you and meeting the team. It was by far the most detailed and informative interview I’ve had to date with a private chef agency. This is not to denigrate other people or companies, simply that the level of professionalism, depth of knowledge and understanding of the business from both angles shown by you and the team puts your agency ahead of the competition.

What really sold it for me was asking me about my influences and where I’d like to eat next. To have that level of enthusiasm for the key ingredient of why we work in this industry after years of high quality and demanding service shows you really understand and love your work and what drives passionate chefs.

It’s great to be represented by a committed foodie.

Kieran Creevy,
Chef

Operations Manager, Ocean Management

“…the default of a partner such as Amandine who have regularly been able to assist is very often invaluable.”

The scope of requests for particular style and highest quality catering with yachting is practically limitless. When presented with some of the most extreme examples the default of a partner such as Amandine who have regularly been able to assist, even at very short notice, if very often invaluable.

Jason Gilbert,
Operations Manager, Ocean Management

Director, 5* Luxury Chalet Company, French & Swiss Alps

“Amandine are always supremely honest about a candidate’s suitability, quick to respond and hugely efficient”

At Bramble Ski and Haute Montagne we need world class chefs, sometimes at short notice, they have to have a very broad repertoire to suit our international clientele and be great with the guests. Kate, Nicola and the team at Amandine have always been our go-to agency. Amandine totally understand our products, are always supremely honest about a candidate’s suitability, quick to respond and hugely efficient. I have used them for several years and look forward to many more years of collaboration!

As Manager of a vast property in Cap d’Antibes I had the near-impossible task to find, interview and appoint a chef at very short notice.

It was an absolute lifesaver when I came across Amandine, the specialist chef agency, dedicated to providing exactly the right chef for even the most demanding gourmand.
Kate Emery personally met with us and made available a selection of chefs from the Amandine portfolio, providing various levels of experience and providing all cooking styles with matching sample menus. All three Amandine chefs that we used on various occasions and for different lengths of time, operated with great skill, organization and complete flexibility.

Amandine also provided us with the best financial arrangement with various options of how we could structure the deal.

Not only financially but on all levels there was no comparison between Amandine and the agencies we used in the past.

Needless to say our high profile guests, their families and friends were all content throughout the languid months of summer and we were happy to be at the receiving end of many compliments during a most efficient operation – thanks to Amandine.

Annette Leroux,
Estate Manager, Pershore Comercio Internacional, SARL

Private Client, Dubai

“Thanks to you personally, you professionally guided us through the chef search process…every candidate was carefully evaluated by you.”

Firstly, we would like to say thanks to you personally, you professionally guided us through the chef search process and the questions asked were straight to the point, with the accent on the genuine requirements of the client. Your response with three chef candidates was very quick. We understand, every candidate was carefully evaluated by you. The calculation of the services was presented in a simple way, so we did not find it overly complicated to understand the economics of the engagement of each chef. We also liked that the profiles were submitted on a unified letterhead which made it very easy for us to compare. We liked that you were regularly following up with us on our decision, with an understanding that Dubai expats are busier than anyone else on this planet. Finally, the administrative side of the deal (regular communication, various confirmations, invoices, financial details, confirmations of receipt of the payments etc.) was done in a very professional and convenient for us manner. Thanks again for your support.